


Witness protection programme

by uselesslesbiantrash



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Genre: Accidental Relationship, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Bisexuality, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, Living Together, Nerdiness, Past Abuse, Spies & Secret Agents, Useless Lesbian Hardbroom (Worst Witch), Useless Lesbians, Witness Protection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24569794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uselesslesbiantrash/pseuds/uselesslesbiantrash
Summary: Hecate is a secret agent. Julie is in witness protection . Hecate is sent to protect her.Millie is in the picture but she is about 6 or 7.All the witches are members of the FBI which is run by Ada.
Relationships: Amelia Cackle | Ada Cackle & Hardbroom, Hardbroom & Julie Hubble, Hardbroom & Mildred Hubble, Hardbroom & Pentangle (Worst Witch), Hardbroom/Julie Hubble, Julie Hubble & Mildred Hubble
Kudos: 23





	1. Witness protection programme

“She’s got a fun one for you today Hardbroom” comments Agent Pentangles from the desk next to Hecate’s, her expression made it seem as if whatever the day brought Hardbroom, it would be anything but fun. The brunette groaned “Gods I better not be on witness protection” Hecate was about as far from a people person as you could get and it was a known fact around the bureau. She finds herself storming into the office of Director Cackle. “Whatever I appear to of done wrong Director, Ada, I deeply apologise.” she says bluntly as the white-blonde haired woman looks up from the file she is reading “Why Agent Hardbroom, do you think you have done wrong?” she asks the question kindly but has a knowing look on her face. “Witness protection?!” is all Hecate replies stiffly. “Witness protection is no punishment Hecate” the director laughs “plus I do believe you will enjoy this one” she has a twinkle in her eye that makes Hecate believe she is certainly up to something. “Go on, enlighten me then” she grumbles, she was fairly certain that whatever her fate would be for the next couple of weeks, it was not going to be pleasant. Ada smiles and places the file into her deputies hand. “Julie Hubble a nurse and single mother from south London” Hecate almost groaned again, she was not a fan of children,but curiosity took over her as she looked the file over, paying close attention to the photo of a smiling woman with sparkling blue eyes and wild, curly blonde hair. “ Why is she under our protection?” the woman in the photo didn’t look like the type of person to be involved in something dangerous. “Don’t judge a book by its cover, Hecate” Ada says, as if she had read the brunette's mind. “She dated Diamond Steve before that was what he became” Steve Dickinson, or Diamond Steve as he had come to be known, was and still is one of the most dangerous cases the FBI had come across he was charged for many counts of armed robbery, GBH, carrying a weapon with intent, accounts of Domestic abuse and arson on his own house while his partner and her child were still- Hecate stopped mid thought, “poor woman” she utters softly. She felt terribly sympathetic for the blonde, Diamond was being released from prison next month after only a five year sentence, good behaviour was the excuse. Although this woman had earned Hecate’s sympathy, she still did not want to be the one on witness protection, but she could not dispute with Ada anymore. 

****

The agent straightened her back slightly as she knocked on the door of Mz Hubble’s flat. “One minute!” Calls a soft and far too northern, for this area, voice. Hecate taps her foot to mark the seconds before the painted green door is opened to reveal Julie Hubble looking much like her photo, bright blue eyes and messy blonde curls, she was dressed in a heavy knitted cardigan and a cotton blue dress that was loosely fitted to her slim frame, not that Hecate was paying much attention or anything. 

“Hello Mz Hubble'' she stretched out the syllables in the name, as if she was unsure of how to properly pronounce it, she hoped that it would go unnoticed and decided to continue “I am Agent Hardbroom with the FBI''she offers her hand awkwardly to the smaller woman who shakes it politely with a lopsided grin “Well I guess I’m saved an introduction eh? Come in then James Bond'' her tone is teasing but Hecate feels herself scowl.“J-James Bond?” she questions as she follows the blonde into the small living room-kitchen area of the flat. “Yeah because you're a spy and all '' this makes Hecate feel embarrassed for some reason, the comment was made with kind intention but the fact that Hecate had no idea who this ‘Bond’ is made her close herself off from the woman. “You may address me as Agent Hardbroom, Hardbroom and maybe Hecate, actually no not Hecate, okay Mz Hubble?” She says in a tone much sharper than intended. She watches as Julie flinches for a second only to look up at her with eyes that seemed to be lit with blue flames. “No, no that is not okay Missus ‘I am so much better than everyone’ that is no way at all to speak to someone who is willing letting you and your spy lot rummage through their stuff and force ‘em to reopen old wounds that they have tried to forget, you think that with all the special op training you get you would know how to at least be polite to someone who was just joking around with you” she shot at Hecate with more feicosity than Hecate imagined she could ever muster. The taller woman stood still for a moment in a sort of awe, she had gained some respect for this woman, but she still did not like her, so they stood there in silence just looking at each other and occasionally the floor.

Until said silence was interrupted by bounding footsteps and a loud “MUM!” being called as a small child with dark messy plaits came into the room,her plait swaying wildly. “Hey Millie-love!” Julie smiles at her daughter in such a way that Hecate feels her heart flutter, Mz Hubble was an exceptional mother, even if she was insufferable company. The young girl looked up at Hecate for the longest of seconds , “Hi” she says finally with big curious eyes. "Hello there." Hecate replies, still sounding rather sharp and uncomfortable. "I'm Mildred, but everyone calls me Millie." The little girl says, not at all phased by the agent's sharp tone. " I'm Agent Hardbroom" Hecate states,as if rather unsure of how to go about this conversation. "Can I call you HB?" To this the brunette groans "no." She says flatly. It seemed her time at the Hubble home would go exactly as she expected, she took a small amount of pleasure in this fact. Luckily, or she may say  **unluckily** , for her things aren't always what they seem.


	2. getting off on the wrong foot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie decides to try patch up the rocky start between herself and Hecate

Hecate had not tried to speak to Mz Hubble properly after their first conversation, she didn’t want to step out of place. She was here for one purpose and one purpose only, work. So it didn’t matter if Mz Hubble liked her or not. She did not need to be friends with this woman in order to make sure she was protected. So instead of trying to go anywhere near the Hubble's she was sitting on the bed in the spare room of the flat,that would be hers for the next few weeks, reading up on case notes when she heard a soft knock on the door. “Come in” she called, she could hardly say no to whoever was out there, it wasn’t her place.

A blonde mess of curls appears from behind the door. “Sorry if I’m being a bother, I just… made you a cuppa and wondered if I could come in to give it ya?” Julie looks sheepishly from a spot in the carpet to the other woman. “You- you made me a hot beverage?” Hecate asks, taken slightly aback, she had been nothing but cold to this woman, she had earned no such kindness'. “Well I didn’t quite know how you liked your tea or if you even liked tea, so I just took a guess and I might not of got it right but it’s milk no sugar, if that’s all right” again the woman seemed to look embarrassed as she spoke though the agent wasn't sure what she was embarrassed about, was it the fact she had made tea or the fact she was talking to her? Or maybe she just felt uncomfortable due their argument earlier."That is actually exactly how I like my tea Mz Hubble, thank you" at this Julie walks fully into the room and hands the cup of steamy liquid, in a painted blue,china mug with an array of colourful flowers decorating it, to the brunette who takes it from her, ignoring how the hot mug makes her hands tingle as soon as they make contact.

"Look…. Um, I wanted to apologise for earlier. We sorta got off on the wrong foot and I'm sorry about that" Hecate looks at the blonde in a state of shock, she had been the one to step out of line, so why was she being apologised to? It made no logical sense whatsoever. "I think I'm the one who owes you an apology Mz Hubble" the tall agent says her tough exterior crumbling just a bit, the other woman laughs slightly, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear and saying "Please, it's Julie" as she smiles. She actually smiles at Hecate with enough brightness to light up an entire city in a black out. Hecate felt her cheeks heat up. _'It must just be hot in here'_ she thinks trying to pay it no mind. It was not hot, not even remotely. It was cold enough that the blonde was wrapped in a blanket but that didn't stop Hecate masking the reason for her warm cheeks and slightly raised heart rate."Okay then… J- Julie, I'm terribly...sorry for earlier" she talks slowly as if she is scared to do something wrong again. "Apology accepted, as long as you learn to take a joke in future without biting me head off, eh?" She laughs again and Hecate feels herself too let out a huff, that could be considered a laugh but not quite. "I'm sure I can just about manage that." Hecate replies feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her tense shoulders. Once again the pair sat in silence but it was a more positive silence than before. Hecate looked out the window opposite her seated position with a thin smile painted on her lips. Maybe she might enjoy this job more than she originally expected to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,   
> this chapter is a little shorter than I would of liked but chapters will get longer as I find my baring's with the storyline. what do you guys think so far? I'd love to hear your opinions!   
> as always thank you so much for reading!


	3. case notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hecate brushes up on what she knows about the case so far.   
> TW: mentions of abuse and toxic relationships

It was mid morning, Mildred was at school and Julie still in bed after a rather late shift at the hospital, leaving Hecate to get some work done herself before checking its accuracy. She wanted to make sure that the notes on this case were as accurate as possible. She didn’t want there to be anything that left people to believe that such a person could be released on just ‘good behaviour’ alone. She began writing:

Case: Diamond Steve’s prison release   
Involved personele: Julie Hubble (ex girlfriend and victim), Mildred Hubble (Julie’s daughter, also victim)   
Case assigned agent: Agent Hardbroom   
Known background on case: Diamond met Mz Hubble at the pub, the shooting star, where Mz Hubble sometime’s partook in “a spot of singing” (direct quote from Mz Hubble herself) in the year 2000. Mz Hubble was recently out of university after training to become a nurse and used the money made at said pub to pay off part of her student debts. At the time of the meeting Mz Hubble was just twenty four and had recently lost her father in a rather violent car accident. She was deeply affected by said event. Diamond asked if he may buy Mz Hubble, or Talluilah, as was her stage name, a drink. She refused him the first couple of times but finally said yes and the two quickly became close, starting a relationship in the summer of 2001. Everything was and seemed fine until the couple split in the spring of 2003 after a particularly nasty row, when Mz Hubble decided to go traveling for two years. She returned pregnant in early months of 2005 and Diamond begged her to come back to him, promising he would gladly raise the child as his own so the two rekindled their relationship but this is where, according to Mz Hubble it all started to go wrong. Diamond became jealous of the child and took said jealousy out on Mz Hubble, claiming it was all her fault that he had become violent, he made her believe that she drove him to it, when in fact he had many violent outbursts in previous years. He became abusive toward Mz Hubble, starting with just shouting and name calling, controlling her and making her believe she was always at fault, to quickly escalate to physical abuse that she would have to hide, not wanting her colleagues or friends to know what 'she'd done to deserve the bruises' it carried on until he tried to start on, the now one year old, Mildred, to which Mz Hubble fought back, leading to the fire which burned down their shared home and almost killed Mz Hubble and her daughter in the process 

Hecate is drawn out of her writing by the feeling of breath behind her. "Can I help you Julie?" She asks with amusement as the blonde jumps slightly. "No, sorry I didn't mean to read over your shoulder" Hecate chuckles "it is your life I am writing about Mz Hubble, you have full right to read it" she says still dazed by this woman, she was so nervous and yet she could be so ferocious at the same time, it almost gave the agent a headache trying to figure her out. "Do you find it satisfactory?" Hecate was suddenly the one filled with nerves, she was worried that the notes she had written may cause offence somehow. "Uh it's accurate" Julie starts "but my God do you 'Mz Hubble' a lot!" She exclaims suppressing a laugh . "I have to keep a level of formality" the agent replies. "If I were to refer to you as Julie, or anything other than Mz Hubble, in the case, I would be overruled for getting too close to the whole thing and then…" the brunette trails off. "Steve would walk" the blonde finishes for her. The agent looks up at her as she does, again filled with sympathy. "Yes, unfortunately that would be the case" she could feel Julie’s sudden fear without needing to look at her. “I assure you that both I and my team will do all we can to insure that he is properly tried and prosecuted, young Mildred and yourself will not need to worry soon” Hecate tries to make her words flow with a sense of calm and by the way the blonde’s shoulders relax, she seems to of succeeded. “I know, I’m sure your lot are very good at what they do- I try not to worry but, Millie’s a lot older now, if he does find us- if he gets out, he _will_ find us, Mills, she won't be too young to forget this time…. And I don’t want her having to live with the effects of it”   
Her shoulders go from nicely relaxed to sagged with sadness. The brunette stands blank for a second or two before saying as softly as she can “you are an exceptional mother, you really are, you put your daughter before everything. I hope you don't take this in an offensive manner but, isn't it time that you focused a little more on you? After all, you can remember the past and I think it’s time you stop being so strong” the agent found herself astonished by this woman’s selflessness, in the midst of everything she had endured, everything she had been put through. She had found a way to persevere and keep herself sane for the sake of her child and even though she was reluctant to admit it, Hecate found herself liking and admiring Mz Hubble more and more the more time they seemed to spend together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, I am so very sorry that this chapter took me so long to write! I hope you'll forgive me? but most importantly I hope you enjoyed the new addition to this story


	4. bringing your work home, or bringing home to work?

“You’re up early” Hecate jumps as she walks into the kitchen to find Julie sat drinking a hot substance from a ceramic mug, she was not sure if it were tea or coffee. “I could say the same about you, isn’t it your day off?” It was about half six in the morning. “I don’t sleep much at night, if I’m being honest, you?” of course, Hecate hadn't even thought of the fact that the masses of trauma inflicted on Julie, could affect her sleep and that on top of her shifts at the hospital must lead to a very erratic sleep pattern. “I am off to the bureau, to see if they’ve found any developments in the case” the blonde’s face lightened a little. “If you wait a couple minutes I’ll come with you” she says, rising from her chair. “I cannot allow that, and even if I could, what about Mildred?” Hecate asks, trying to dissuade the idea. “Old Jim next door ‘ll be awake, owes me a favour too, so Mil’s can kip in his spare room as for the old ‘can’t allow it’ line, I didn’t ask permission did I?'' she speaks so softly that Hecate almost forgets she is trying to be demanding “you cannot just go with me to the FBI, it is a rule” with her brows furrowed the brunette tries to be as firm as she can but Julie just laughs “rules were made ta be broken, so either I come with you or I’ll just follow you there, your choice” though they both knew there was no choice in the matter. “you’re simply insufferable” Hecate tutts with a roll of her chocolate eyes.   
*********at the federal bureau of intelligence*****  
Julie looked around, it looked more like every other building than she expected, apart from the cold atmosphere, but that was probably because she was not supposed to be there. Agent Hardbroom led them to the main office and they were greeted by a short, well she was still slightly taller than Julie but as opposed to average she was short, woman with white-blonde hair and circular framed glasses. “Agent Hardbroom, Mz Hubble, I’m sure there is a very interesting explanation for this” she says kindly but aims a rather pointed look towards her assistant director. “Yes” is all Hecate says in response. Julie decides that now would be a good time to speak up. “Hi there, I’m so sorry to walk in on you like this, don’t blameAgent H, it was all my fault, I just wanted to know what was happening” the directors demeanor softens “I understand that Mz Hubble, I do but you really shouldn't be here, but as you are I am not going to turn you away. Only could I ask you to sit with Agent Pentangles a moment while I talk with Assistant Director Hardbroom in private?” it was phrased like a question but Julie had the idea she was not being asked. So she made her way outside of the office to sit with the blonde wearing a pink button up shirt, who had the name card of P.Pentangles placed on her desk. “Hey I’m Pippa, you must be the famous Mz Hubble we’ve all been hearing so much of” The woman says with slight tease. “It’s Julie, please” Julie answers, not quite sure how she feels about everyone in the room knowing all of her business. “Julie then, tell me, how has it been living with Hecate? She is rather an acquired taste for most” it sounded as if Pippa has a lot of personal experience with the mysterious Agent Hardbroom, and not just because they had desks opposite each other. “Well we didn’t quite get on at first… We are very different, personality wise, but I think she’s used to me now” as she says this she notices that the other woman laughs with her. “Hiccup can be like that” _'Hiccup? Was that a nickname? A nickname for Hecate?'_ This was such a bizarre thought that Julie needed an explanation. “Hiccup?” she asks, masking her wonder slightly. “Oh it’s a nickname I gave her when we were in training and it just stuck I suppose” Julie tried to imagine trainee Hardbroom, she would probably of been the tallest girl, maybe the tallest person in the class, with long and scraggly hair that was still just as thick and dark as present , she imagined that a young Hecate would look less serious but that wasn’t as easy to picture as she thought it might be.   
****  
“So witness protection is going better than expected?” Ada asks smiling as she looks at the door that Julie Hubble just left her office from. The corners of Agent Hardbroom’s lips turn up, slightly. “You could say that I suppose Director” she replies. “That is good, I’m glad you are getting along…” Hecate tenses, sensing a ‘but’. “But that doesn’t mean that you should have really brought her here. This is a private institution, what if one of the major directors came in, hm?” She is trying to seem stern but honestly she is just happy that Hecate hasn’t tried to tear Mz Hubble to shreeds. “I- I_ she has every right to know what is going on Ada, it is her fate we are deciding and I could hardly say no, she is petrified that we may slip up and that that animal will be set loose to terrorise and traumatise her daughter, so I could not say no” Hecate can feel her hands shake and puts them behind her back, it wasn’t like she had never stood up to the director before, she had, multiple times, but this time it felt… somewhat desperate and personal, which she had no right to feel, she scolded herself for it but she did. “Very well she is permitted to stay, this once” there was no mistaking the firmness in Ada’s tone this time. “Oh and Agent Hardbroom?” she adds, making Hecate turn on her heels. “Yes Director?” she asks as she reaches the door. “Tell Ms Hubble to come and speak to me, I would like to personally update her on the case” Hecate didn’t know if this was just to save poor Julie from Pippa or not, but she was sure she wouldn’t need saving. The two had some very similar personality traits. 


	5. You love her, you idiot!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pippa knocks some sense into Hecate and tells her what she thinks is going on

As Julie followed the director, Hecate sat back at her old desk, looking over into Ada’s office every so often, just to check that everything was okay in there, not that she was worrying or anything, Julie Hubble could handle herself and… even if she couldn’t, it wasn’t the agent’s concern. “Could you be anymore obvious, Hiccup?” The brunette snaps up out of whatever thought she was lost in to find the hazel eyes of her best friend looking at her with an expression that she couldn't quite read. “Whatever do you mean?” she responded, earning an eye roll from the blonde. “You are in love with Julie Hubble!” she accuses lifting one perfectly manicured hand as if to say ‘duh’. The heat rises in Hecate's cheeks before she can fathom how to stop it. “N- no, I am just simply doing my job, I am very good at my job!” the words come out quicker and more defensive than she intended. “You are amazing at your job but even you have to admit that you are going the ‘extra mile’ on this case” Hecate thought for a moment, she didn’t think that anything she was doing was beyond normal, then again she had never taken anyone to the bureau before… but she had only done that because Julie had insisted! She was insufferably stubborn! “No, I do not” to this Pippa laughs. “Oh Hiccup, how long have we known each other? Over twenty years? You cannot lie to me” but then her face softens. “You know you can tell me anything, right?” Hecate’s brows furrow at this, she wasn’t in love with Julie, she was only really just starting to like her, sure the woman was pretty and had the sort of personality that drew you to her immediately and had hair that was so wild and thick and curly that she resembled a lion and she had a smile that Hecate was certain was brighter than the sun! But love her? No, she did not. She hardly knew her, well any of the important things to know anyway.

“I- oh Pipsqueak I don’t know! I can’t be in love with this woman, I have only known her a week! And I am about 90% certain she has no intentions of reciprocating any feelings I may or may not have for her, I spent half said week being absolutely stupid and horrible to her!” emotions seemed to burst out of the normally reserved woman as if she wasn’t sure of her feelings and now they were pouring out of her as if she were an emotional waterfall. “That sounds like love, if you ask me” was Pippa’s reply as she smiled at the taller woman. “Sometimes it doesn’t make any sense.” she added, she was right about that, nothing about the situation the brunette found herself in made any sense. Hecate felt herself turn to look back into the glass window of the Directors office, she wished she was good at reading people's emotions, she wished she could have a sense of what was going on in there, she wished she hadn’t let herself agree to bringing Julie along, she wished she could hear what was happening, they had been talking for such a long while. Then she noticed Julie smile, that smile that made her feel slightly breathless and she almost felt herself swoon but she caught herself just in time, or so she thought “Yep you definitely love her, you idiot” Pippa teased with a soft laugh. “Oh do shut up Pip!” the brunette retorted lightly hitting her friend's arm. ”Don’t shush me because I’m right!” the blonde protests, making Hecate stop whatever she was doing ‘she’s right? She’s right! You have managed to fall for a woman you hardly know! Idiot indeed!’ she thinks to herself in a sort of scold, idiot indeed. Absolute, utter stupid idiot! An idiot who happened to be in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg I'm alive? I guess so, this chapter took so long to write and it is still too short but its something I suppose

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this little AU as much as I enjoyed writing it. Julie and Hecate really have my entire heart!


End file.
